Using multicasting to provide ethernet-like communication behavior to selected peers on a network

• US 6,870,842 B1
• Filed: 12/10/1999
• Issued: 03/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Schuba, Christoph L., Caronni, Germano, Gupta, Amit, Kumar, Sandeep, Scott, Glenn C., Markson, Tom R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAH, CHIRAG G
• Application Number:
  US09/457,915
• Time in Patent Office: 1,929 Days
• Field of Search: 370/235, 370/312, 370/389, 370/390, 370/392, 370/432, 370/475, 709/231
• US Class Current: 370/390
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast

Abstract

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide a Supernet, a private network constructed out of components from a public-network infrastructure. Supernet nodes can be located on virtually any device in the public network (e.g., the Internet), and both their communication and utilization of resources occur in a secure manner. The Supernet also uses multicast communication to create Ethernet-like communication between its nodes. In using multicasting, each communication of each node on a channel in the private network is sent to a multicast address which sends it to all of the nodes on the channel. Sending a copy of every communication to all of the other nodes on the channel makes system tasks, like debugging, easy for the nodes on the channel. The multicasting provided by the private network is dynamic in that multicast addresses can be assigned for use by a channel and reclaimed so as to allow sharing of the multicast addresses.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system for providing communication in a network with a plurality of channels, each of the channels with a plurality of nodes having an address stored in an address resolution component, the method comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a secured access program, a multicast address to the plurality of nodes on one of the channels by transmitting the multicast address to the address resolution component;

authenticating, by the address resolution component, the secured access program;

responsive to successfully authenticating the secured access program, updating, by the address resolution component, the address of each node on the one channel to include the multicast address;

sending a packet to the multicast address such that only the plurality of nodes on the one channel receive the packet; and

deassigning the multicast address from the one channel such that the multicast address is rendered unavailable to the nodes on the one channel.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the assigning step further comprises

reading the multicast address from a configuration file.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the assigning step further comprises the step of:

designating an expiration time for the multicast address; and

wherein the deassigning step further comprises the step of;

determining that the expiration time has lapsed.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the network is a private network running on a public network infrastructure.

5. A method in a distributed system having a public network infrastructure, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a private network with a plurality of nodes over the public network infrastructure, wherein each node has an address stored in an address resolution component in the private network;

assigning, by a secured access program in the Private network, a multicast address to a channel containing fewer than all of the nodes on the private network by transmitting the multicast address to the address resolution component;

authenticating, by the address resolution component, the secured access program;

responsive to successfully authenticating the secured access program, updating, by the address resolution component, an address of each node on the channel to include the multicast address;

sending a multicast communication to the channel containing fewer than all of the nodes on the private network using the multicast address assigned to the channel on the private network; and

deassigning the multicast address from the channel on the private network, thereby making the multicast address unavailable to the nodes in the channel on the private network.

6. The method of claim 5 further including the step of:

assigning the multicast address to another channel containing fewer than all of the plurality of nodes on the network.

7. A distributed system comprising a private network with a plurality of nodes on devices, the private network using a public network infrastructure, comprising:

a first of the devices comprising;

a memory with a secured access program that assigns a multicast address with an expiration time to a channel containing fewer than all of the plurality of nodes by transmitting the multicast address to an address manager, and that deassigns the multicast address such that the multicast address is rendered unavailable to the channel when the expiration time expires; and

a processor that runs the secured access program;

a second of the devices comprising;

a memory with an address manager that receives the multicast address, authenticates the secured access program, and updates an address of each node on the channel to include the multicast address; and

a processor that runs the address manager; and

a third device comprising;

a memory with a sending one of the nodes on the channel that requests from the address manager an address for a destination one of the nodes on the channel, that receives from the address manager the multicast address, and that sends a packet to the multicast address such that only the plurality of nodes on the channel receives the packet; and

a processor that runs the sending node.

8. A method in a data processing system for providing communication in a network with a plurality of channels, each of the channels with a plurality of nodes, wherein each node has an address stored in an address resolution component, the method comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a secured access program, a multicast address to the plurality of nodes on one of the channels by transmitting the multicast address to the address resolution component;

authenticating the secured access program, by the address resolution component;

responsive to successfully authenticating the secured access program, updating the addresses in the address resolution component to include the multicast address for each of the plurality of nodes on the one channel by the address resolution component;

attempting to send a packet from a sending one of the plurality of nodes on the one channel to a destination one of the plurality of nodes on the one channel by passing the packet to a protocol stack;

accessing the multicast address in the address resolution component by the protocol stack;

using the multicast address to transmit the packet to the plurality of nodes on the one channel such that the packet is not transmitted to nodes in the network that are not on the one channel; and

deassigning the multicast address from the one channel by the address resolution component such that the multicast address is rendered unavailable to the plurality of nodes on the one channel.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the assigning step further comprises the step of:

designating an expiration time for the multicast address; and

wherein the deassigning step further comprises the step of;

determining that the expiration time has expired.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further includes the step of:

assigning the multicast address to the plurality of nodes on another one of the channels.

11. A data processing system for providing a distributed system in a public network infrastructure, the data processing system comprising:

means for establishing a private network with a plurality of nodes over the public network infrastructure, wherein each node has an address stored in an address resolution component in the private network;

means for assigning, by a secured access program in the private network, a multicast address to a channel containing fewer than all of the nodes on the private network by transmitting the multicast address to the address resolution component;

means for authenticating, by the address resolution component, the secured access program;

means for updating by the address resolution component, responsive to successfully authenticating the secured access program, an address of each node on the channel to include the multicast address;

means for sending a multicast communication to the channel containing fewer than all of the nodes on the private network using the multicast address assigned to the channel on the private network; and

means for deassigning the multicast address from the channel on the private network, thereby making the multicast address unavailable to the nodes in the channel on the private network.

12. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a data processing system to perform a method, the method in a distributed system having a public network infrastructure, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a private network with a plurality of nodes over the public network infrastructure, wherein each node has an address stored in an address resolution component in the private network;

assigning, by a secured access program in the private network, a multicast address to a channel containing fewer than all of the nodes on the private network by transmitting the multicast address to the address resolution component,

authenticating, by the address resolution component, the secured access program;

responsive to successfully authenticating the secured access program, updating, by the address resolution component, an address of each node on the channel to include the multicast address;

sending a multicast communication to the channel containing fewer than all of the nodes on the private network using the multicast address assigned to the channel on the private network; and

deassigning the multicast address from the channel on the private network, thereby making the multicast address unavailable to the nodes in the channel on the private network.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, the method further including the step of:

assigning the multicast address to another channel containing fewer than all of nodes on the network.

14. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a data processing system to perform a method, the method in a data processing system for providing communication in a network with a plurality of channels, each of the channels with a plurality of nodes, wherein each node has an address stored in an address resolution component, the method comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a secured access program, a multicast address to the plurality of nodes on one of the channels by transmitting the multicast address to the address resolution component;

authenticating, by the address resolution component, the secured access program;

responsive to successfully authenticating the secured access program, updating, by the address resolution component, the address of each node on the one channel to include the multicast address;

sending a packet to the multicast address such that the plurality of nodes on the one channel receive the packet and nodes in the network that are not on the one channel do not receive the packet; and

deassigning the multicast address from the one channel such that the multicast address is rendered unavailable to the nodes on the one channel.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the assigning step further comprises the step of:

reading the multicast address from a configuration file.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the assigning step further comprises the step of:

designating an expiration time for the multicast address; and

wherein the deassigning step further comprises the step of;

determining that the expiration time has lapsed.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim herein the network is a private network running on a public network infrastructure.